After neglecting to clean the fridge at work (large cafeteria) for a week, I knew I would find some gross stuff. Sure enough, I did. And man, was it a TON of rotten food. My friends and I filled 2 trash cans with rotten fruits, vegetables, chicken (grossest smell EVER!), and old soups and sauces. We obediently brought the bags as quick as we could over to the garbage bins, hoping that they wouldn't rip all over us (because we would have quit). After this disgusting day at work, I went home to eat some fruit, and since it was just a terrible day, the peach I wanted to eat was moldy. So, I threw it in the trash. Now, I am living on my own.
The other day my friend came over (while I was again, cleaning the fridge. My life is just haunted by fridge cleaning). She watched me throw all kinds of old rotten fruits and vegetables and cheeses in the trash can, just shaking her head. "Molly," she said, " I thought you were all about recycling and reducing waste?" I was dumbstruck. "Well of course I am!" I said. "Well, then why are you throwing all that food in your garbage can instead of composting it?"
Dang, she got me. That got me to thinking, how much am I really doing to help the environment? I mean, I obviously care about climate change, and I recycle everything recyclable, but is that really enough? I was curious, so I went to see what my Carbon Footprint was, and got the following graph.
Now, I knew it could be better, but compared to the rest of the country, mine wasn't too bad. Of all the underlying categories, though, my biggest footprint was in the food category. My friend was right. I was a member of the attitude- behavior group, which is the "all talk, no action" group. I talk and talk about how I want the planet to be saved and how I try to help the environment so much, and here I am, with a pretty big food footprint because, well, I'm too lazy to separate my food into compost instead of garbage, and I always have been. I really didn't like that title. Me, being someone in the attitude-behavior group? That's upsetting. I guess I should probably work on that, huh?
Posts
Congratulations on realizing that you're a member of the attitude-behavior group. I am as well, as are the majority of Unity College students. We obviously care about the environmental sustainability (otherwise why would we go to Unity?) but we unconsciously partake in activities harmful to the environment. It's good that you recognize this and best of luck on improving your actions!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, on a funny note, I worked at Wendy's. The garbage bags they used were unbelievably thin, and thus the contents ALWAYS exploded all over my clothes. Grease... melted ice cream... eww... and no, I couldn't get the smell out no many how times I washed my uniform.